Learning Composition

Basic’s

By Sarah Pete

http://songspeak.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/sheet_music.jpg

BASIC COMPOSITIONWhy did I Choose The Topic?

• To further myself as a musician.

• I wanted to learn how to compose, because I always was thinking of songs, and never writing them down, now that I learned how to write them down, polish them up, and have a final concrete version.

MRS. LAURA FAIRBANKSMy Field Expert

• Mrs. Fairbanks• Teaches at Yenney’s

Music Store.• Teaches piano, flute,

and recorder.• Has a B.S. in Music

Education & Music Therapy from Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN.

WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR.My Background in Music

• Two years of piano lessons with a teacher.

• Four years of choir, through middle school, high school, and a community group.

• One year of band, in middle school, playing the clarinet.

• http://cosmicthings.com/wpsblogs/techtalk/files/2009/10/music-notes.jpg

TOOLS NEEDED

How to Start

My Piano

Sheet Music

My Field Expert: Mrs. Laura

WHAT’S THE COURSE OF ACTION

The Plan

• Start with writing a song with no previous knowledge of the mechanics of composition.

• When my initial composition is done, I will work with field advisor on how to correctly transcribe my song onto paper handwritten.

• Work on polishing out the song, including phrasing, and dynamics.

COST VS. CONVENIENCE

Why Handwritten?

• Handwriting music is a good way to document my progress.

• By handwriting, you learn so much more, instead of typing it into a program and it doing the work for you.

• The programs used to write music tend to get pretty expensive.

• Depending on the program you decide to get, they can range from around $60 up to $300 or more.

• The one that looked the best that I found was Sibelius 6, the most expensive version being $1000, least expense $320. Not all programs are this expensive.

WHY “GROWING CHERRIES”

The Title?

Why did I choose the Title “Growing Cherries”?Not due to eating cherries next to my piano unfortunately, that

would have been delicious.It was due to my piano of cherry wood, and the cherry blossom tree outside of my house. As the tree went through it’s seasons

and grew and changed, so was I, same with my skill at the piano.(Dudley Carr, 2009)

WHAT WAS HAPPENING

Progression

The First AttemptWhat is Wrong?No Time Signature. No note stems. No measure bars. No note values added.

©Sarah Pete 2010

Getting SomewhereWhat was added in?Connected bars together correctly. Added in measures. Stems where added. Note values where assigned. Some dynamic markings added.What is it wrong?Stems on wrong side. Still missing some needed markings.

©Sarah Pete 2010

Almost ThereWhat Was Added? Added in more detail, started to refine the piece. Page is very cluttered at this point, and is almost ready to be rewritten for the final draft. Mistakes at this point where being corrected.

©Sarah Pete 2010

GROWING CHERRIES

The Final Draft

© Sarah Pete 2010

©Sarah Pete 2010

© Sarah Pete 2010

© Sarah Pete 2010

Reflection

• The process of this project was long, sometimes hard, and I learned a lot. It was very fun most of the time, and I am proud of the end result. I enjoyed doing this very much, and would love to continue writing, especially now that I am more proficient at it, and my work is legible.

Bibliography• http://www.jwpepper.com/5745526.item

• Http://songspeak.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/sheet_music.jpg

• http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4956-1,00.html#6c

• http://casacamisas.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/piano_keys.jpg

• http://cosmicthings.com/wpsblogs/techtalk/files/2009/10/music-notes.jpg